JCPenney has just days left as beloved Maryland mall shuts for good on August 31 after nearly 70 years, leaving generations of shoppers saying goodbye

For generations of shoppers in Dundalk, Eastpoint Mall was more than a place to shop. It was where families spent weekends, friends met up and children tried on clothes just for fun. Now, the Maryland mall is preparing to close permanently on August 31, taking anchor retailer JCPenney with it.

Located about 10 miles southeast of downtown Baltimore, Eastpoint Mall has been part of the Dundalk community since 1956. The 850,000-square-foot shopping centre is entering its final days after nearly seven decades, according to The US Sun.

For some longtime visitors, the closure means losing a familiar part of everyday life.

‘We used to… try on dresses just to play dress up’

Shopper Dayjanae Jones told CBS News, as cited by The US Sun, that Eastpoint Mall was part of her childhood.

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“I used to come out here with my sisters and like friends and stuff,” Jones said.

“We used to go in the prom store and try on dresses just to play dress up.”

For another Dundalk resident, Charles Taylor, the mall's closure means finding somewhere else to shop for things he could usually get under one roof.

“Most of the things that I’m looking for, I know I can find here,” Taylor said.

“That’s what makes it so sad about them closing because I’m going to have to go somewhere else.”

A second home for one longtime shopkeeper

Eastpoint Mall's closure is also forcing longtime business owners to think about what comes next.

Brijinder Singh has operated his specialty store, Class Act, at the mall since 1992. He described the property as his family's “second home” in a conversation with CBS News, according to The US Sun.

Singh said falling sales meant he would need to look for another location.

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“We can’t be able to sell this many merchandise, I will try to go somewhere else,” Singh said.

He suggested White Marsh Mall in Baltimore as a possible new home for his business.

Tenants caught off guard by closure

The mall's closure has also created uncertainty for its tenants.

According to The US Sun, vendors said they were told in June that they would have to leave the 850,000-square-foot property. Some tenants told the Dundalk Eagle that MCB Real Estate, the mall's owner, formally confirmed the closure only toward the end of July.

One tenant questioned why the announcement had come so late.

“If they told us six months back, maybe they were scared, afraid that maybe the people would not want to pay rent,” the tenant said.

Some businesses also claimed they had been told earlier in the year that the mall was not closing, despite asking directly about its future.

Eastpoint Mall is scheduled to stop operating on August 31, although some tenants reportedly have until the end of September to leave. One food court business said its lease runs through 2031.

JCPenney and other stores to leave

JCPenney, one of the mall's anchor retailers, will close along with Eastpoint Mall.

The property has also housed retailers including Burlington and Gabe's. Value City Furniture, another former anchor, went bankrupt last year.

Eastpoint Mall began life as an open-air shopping centre in 1956 before becoming an enclosed mall in 1972. It eventually grew to around 100 specialty stores.

Now, as the final shopping days approach, the closure is leaving shoppers and shopkeepers with the same question: where do they go when a place that has been part of their lives for decades is no longer there?